Marauder Madness
by NanoLuvsYouAll
Summary: Marauder era.   Life of the marauders and co in and outside of Hogwarts.
1. Life Before School

_Hello everyone!_

_This is a story I want to start about the life of the marauders, and specifically their life at Hogwarts… This chapter is really just the introduction and abit of a summary of their lives before Hogwarts… _

_If you want me to continue, please let me know in a review. If no oen wants me to continue, I won't._

_xoxo_

_Naomi_

**Life Before School**

**Do they call it "life before school" because you no longer have a life once you're in school?**

9th January, 1960

The mother tiredly closed her eyes, wrapping two thin arms around the tiny body. Tobias wasn't there, unsurprisingly, and the only ones to congratulate her were the Medi-witches. But they were healers, no liars and when she looked down and saw the pale skin, large nose and weak body... she realized why the congratulations hadn't sounded sincere.

At the time, Severus Snape didn't know he'd spend most of his life being ridiculed for the same reasons.

30th January, 1960

A group of people huddled around a hospital bed all gasped in surprise as a small girl opened her stunning green eyes for the very first time. She was already several hours old, and lay comfortable in her mother's arms. Petunia watched from right beside the bed, a small smile on her thin lips as she looked at her baby sister.

At the time Lily Evans didn't know she was a witch.

10th March, 1960

Remus Lupin slowly blinked his eyes open, staring straight into two blue ones. His mother smiled down at him and his father boasted to everyone about his big son.

At the time Remus Lupin didn't know or care he'd been born on a full moon.

25th March, 1960

It was loud, Bellatrix decided, too loud. Next to her someone sighed, and on the other side of the room someone studied the Family Tapestry. She didn't really see the use in having the whole family over when someone was giving birth. Especially when the baby was so – damn – loud.

Three floors above her, Sirius Black screamed the lungs out of his tiny little body. Because it was too cold, even with a blanket, even when his mother held him close. It was just too cold.

At the time Sirius Black didn't know he was born on as the Black heir.

27th March, 1960

James Potter screamed as well. Perhaps not quite as long as his future best friend, but definitely as loud. His mum and dad watched him proudly as his screaming assured them that yes, he was very healthy indeed. His loud cries subsided when his mother pulled him close.

At the time James Potter didn't know he was just two days too young – in his future self's opinion.

3rd August, 1960

Peter Pettigrew didn't scream extraordinarily loud or long, and he didn't actually open his eyes until ten hours after his birth. Peter Pettigrew cried when he was born, was soothed by his mom and fell asleep.

At the time Peter Pettigrew didn't know he was born last.

It took 3 months for Sirius Black to show his first sign of magic. And really, he wasn't aware of it. All he knew was that he was trying to sleep, but that someone – _someone_ – was talking too loudly. And nobody responded to his cries, and the voice became louder – angrier – and he just wanted it to stop... And then it did.

Narcissa opened and closed her mouth a few times, but no sound would come out. She first looked at her older sister, but Bellatrix simply shrugged. Then her gaze wandered to the tiny baby, which had stopped crying almost the instant she'd lost her voice and was now contently sleeping.

Lily Evans first sign of magic passed unnoticed. Her mum had been talking with Petunia, her dad was reading the paper and so the only one who saw the disgusting porridge change into delicious strawberry yoghurt was Lily. And she wasn't about to tell.

Three-year-old Lily Evans _hated _porridge.

With James it was the other way around: _everyone_ saw his first sign of magic. After all, the Potter's were a high standing pure-blood family, meaning they'd be among the people invited to the yearly New Year's party at the ministry. And, considering they were that high standing pure blood family, the Potter's had to mingle, and thus left their 6-months-old son with the other babies. James Potter had never been a person who enjoyed being ignored. So he started screaming at the top of his lungs and, when his mother didn't manage to reach him right away, caused the gigantic pudding on the nearest table to explode, covering most of the guests in jelly.

It was the first time Sirius Black laughed or even smiled.

James' first smile had been on the day he was born. His first laugh had been two weeks after.

Remus' first sign of magic was directed towards a book. His favourite book to be exact. His favourite book – that lay on a shelf just a little too high. And his mom was cooking and didn't want him to bother her – so he wouldn't – and his dad wasn't home, but he really wanted to watch at the zooming images... Therefore, he cried out in joy when the book came zooming towards him, and his mom looked around just in time to see it do so.

Even at three years, Remus Lupin loved books.

Two-year-old Severus Snape watched as his daddy yelled, and as he threw a vase at the wall and then he froze as his daddy lunged at his mother, his massive fist colliding painfully with her shoulder. As his daddy stormed out of the room, Severus started moving again, running towards his mom, who said huddled in the corner, tears rolling down her cheeks and clutching her pained shoulder. She looked up as a small hand reached out to clumsily wipe away a tear, and then saw her son bow forward and place a small kiss on her shoulder.

"Kiss make boo-boo better?" And she smiled widely and nodded. Not because of the compassion of her young son, moreover because his kiss had actually made the 'boo-boo' go away…

Peter's first sign of magic was – well… Peter was a little late with magic. Only as a nine-year-old he first showed something extraordinarily, when he got caught at the sweet store down the street stealing chocolate and managed to avoid punishment by disappearing. And not by running off – he wasn't fast – not by hiding – he'd never been good at hide-and-seek – no, Peter Pettigrew simply turned himself invisible.

His mom was so happy that she simply forgot the reason behind this sudden sprout of magic, and threw him a party rather than punishing him.

James always looked forward towards his birthday. He started counting down two months ahead, and didn't sleep a week prior out of anticipation. But who could blame him, as every year he was awakened by his mom and dad with a pile of gifts and breakfast in bed, had a huge party accompanied by many gifts and countless delicious treats, invited numerous friends to play with and even more guests because of social impression (the Black's always declined, the Lupin's weren't in the public eye enough, the Evans were muggles and thus unknown and unheard of, the Snape's had a bad name and Mrs Potter had never really liked Mrs Pettigrew) and – most importantly – his dad took him (and some lucky friends) to a Quidditch field were he was aloud to fly as high, as much and as dangerously as he wished…

James Potter definitely looked forward towards his birthday.

Severus Snape noted that his birthday's got worse every year. His mom tried, sure, made a cake, invited some family – but she'd never been good at baking, and thanks to Tobias the family preferred to stay away after a few years… He didn't have any friends – he was home-schooled so he knew no one from the local schools, and other than that most kids found him rather strange with his poor clothing, big nose, and greasy hair – so there was no one else he could invite, or play with.

Severus Snape often found himself almost_ forgetting_ his own birthday.

The birthday of a Black was an important and big social event. Sirius thoroughly_ detested_ important and social events. Still, he was forced to sit at the head of the long table year after year, saying polite 'thank you's as the guest handed him their gifts, watching as all the food slowly disappeared onto plates knowing he would be the last to be served and his unwrapping would go slower and slower as the time got on because he didn't even really like any of the presents anyway and he didn't want to dance with all the pureblood witches around his age that were present as he knew he would have to once this part of the torture had been done with.

Sirius Black _dreaded _his birthday.

The Evans' had birthday traditions. First, you got your favourite breakfast and then you dressed up in your new clothes and wore your new shoes. Secondly, you spend the morning celebrating with the whole family before heading to that-one-place-close-to-Surrey-next-to-the-highway. Thirdly, in the afternoon you were free to invite friends over, and for the dinner you'd all get fish and chips before going off to the ice-cream shop on the corner for dessert. Every year, Lily would start the day with strawberry yoghurt, before pulling on her new dress (green, always green) and the shoes with straps her mom knew would break but bought her anyway because Lily loved them. She'd get countless presents and have the greatest fun, first with her cousins, then with her friends and always with Tuney. Fish and chips were here favourite meal, and she always got strawberry ice-cream and Tuney would always get vanilla and they'd share so they had two flavours instead of one.

Lily Evans _knew_ birthdays.

Remus Lupin knew two birthdays. The before birthdays and the after birthdays. He enjoyed the before birthdays, when he'd play with his cousins and the boys from down the street whilst the grown-ups talked in the garden. He didn't enjoy the after birthdays, when his family thought up excuses not to come and the boys down the street didn't get why he'd grown so quiet and concluded he was a bore so stopped coming as well.

Remus Lupin enjoyed and didn't enjoy birthdays, and that was just tough luck.

The birthday of Peter Pettigrew was simple. His mom would cook for hours and finally in the afternoon the biggest bullies of his school would show, play with_ his_ new toys, stuff their faces with food and Peter would know that for the coming weeks he'd be in the higher ranks. More important than the victims, slightly below the helpers and almost level yet still a bit above bystanders.

Peter Pettigrew needed birthdays.

Remus couldn't have possible anticipated what had happened. After all, he'd walked through the woods in the dark so often, usually with a friend, and there'd never been even the slightest sign of life. But this – this _thing _had definitely been alive. Remus clutched his side in agony, willing the pain to go away by the simple pressure of his hands. It didn't. And suddenly- quite unexpectedly – he realised he could very well die here. And as tears started to build in his eyes – he didn't want to die, he was only _seven_ for Merlin's sake! - he suddenly heard his name. Out of nowhere, two strong arms lifted him and Remus vaguely recognized his dad. But everything was fading, and he was just_ so _tired…

Remus Lupin didn't know his life would never be the same.

James' eyes widened in horror, watching the terror unfold right before his eight –year-old eyes. And around him people were running and screaming, as more and more curses were directed at them. But he stood frozen, wanting to help, but unable to do anything. It was the most helpless he'd ever felt. He could see a small girl being dragged away by one of the masked figures and lunged forwards to help her- when his dad caught him around the middle and apparated away. And in the kitchen of their home, he told his mom about wanting to help, about needing to fight… she told him to play, have as much fun as he possible and just be a child. Fighting was for grown men, and once he came of age he would be aloud to do so.

But James Potter knew his life would never be the same.

Severus had never been fond of company. He didn't like other people. Not adults, not children. Neither boys, nor girls. He preferred to be on his own, and usually stayed inside. A lonely nine-year-old boy. But Tobias and his mom were fighting, and he_ had _to go away… and there she was. She and another girl – her friend, her sister? – were playing, running around in large circles… and she was beautiful. He'd never seen anyone who could compare to her. Her long red hair trailed behind her, her stunningly green eyes were sparkling and her laugh echoed around the deserted playground. And then she jumped – but she came far too high, and made a few steps through the air before landing again, giggling…

Severus Snape knew his life would never be the same.

Lily looked back one more time as she and Petunia trudged away. A _witch_? Couldn't be, right? And Petunia didn't believe it, and in Lily's ten-year-long life Petunia had never been wrong. Yet, Petunia couldn't do the things she could… so how would she know, really? It was all so confusing. Perhaps she should go look for him later, and ask… he seemed to know what he was talking about. And he said he could do the same things she could. Yeah, she would go look for him later, but without Tuney.

Lily Evans didn't know her life would never be the same.

Sirius' eyes were dark, as he looked at his cousins' form from behind a tapestry. Bella was happy. Too happy. He was used to her being gloom, snappy and short, not to this bubbly, witty person that seemed to be radiating magic. And quite honestly it scared him. Not just the sudden change in attitude, moreover the reason for the sudden change… Because it was all she could talk about – _You-Know-Who_ – and he knew it couldn't be right. His parents adored it, and his cousin adored it and almost his whole family adored it. But Sirius knew it couldn't be right. He was only eleven, but he knew it couldn't be right. And then Bella rolled up her sleeve and proudly showed_ it_ to his mother, and they both wore identical proud, arrogant, smug smiles.

Sirius Black knew his life would never be the same.

Peter's hands were shaking as he tried to get up. He hadn't expected them to come after him. It was the last day of school after all. Who on earth got beaten up on the last day of school? They would never even see each other again. It just didn't make sense. He finally managed to get his bruised limbs to cooperate and got to his feet, ignoring the throbbing of his head. It didn't matter, not really… He'd be going off to Hogwarts next year anyways. It didn't matter.

And Peter Pettigrew _hoped_ his life would never be the same.

When Lily Evans opened the door to a cloaked figure, she wasn't surprised and she wasn't scared. Instead, she felt delight fill her as a huge smile split her face in two. Because Sev had been right. Sev hadn't been lying or making up stories, like Tuney had told her. And Lily knew she would go to Hogwarts, make plenty new friends, be absolutely brilliant and stay best friends with Sev for the rest of her life. Because he'd told her that as well.

When her new professor left, Lily bolted out the door straight to Spinners End.

Yes, Lily Evans was delighted.

Snape smiled as he read the letter, though it was a slightly sour smile. He would be happy to go to Hogwarts, definitely… But he didn't want to lose Lily. And fact remained that Lily was muggleborn and would therefore probably not end up in Slytherin. And he would. He planned to, at least. With a bit of luck, Lily would go to Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff, and in that case their friendship could survive. If she went to Gryffindor however… well, that was the worst case scenario. And that wouldn't happen anyway, she was entirely too smart. She would go to Ravenclaw. She_ had_ to go to Ravenclaw.

Yes, Severus Snape was worried.

Sirius' heart jumped the second he saw the envelope. However, outwardly he maintained his bored and annoyed expression. Knowing his mother, she would have him home-schooled the second she realized how badly he wanted to go to Hogwarts. So he pretended not to see, and waited patiently for his father to call him. Instead of ripping the letter open and scanning through it, Sirius forced himself to open it calmly and read the entire context slowly, even with his heart doing summersaults and his body on fire. He put the envelope next to his plate, and continued eating with the same bored expression he carried around all day. It was hard though, when he felt lighter and lighter by the second, a warm glow was slowly spreading through his body.

Sirius Black was relieved.

James didn't even notice the letter at first, paying much more attention to the scrambled eggs on the plate his mum had put it next to. Only halfway through breakfast James saw the letter, and even then it wasn't interesting enough to him to stop eating. Therefore, it took approximately an hour for James to as much as open the letter, and even then he simply scanned through it, halting at the last sentence on the second paper: -_first year students are not allowed to bring a broomstick_. Immediately a frown appeared on his face, and it quickly evolved into a scowl, as James saw his dreams of being on the house team being postponed yet another year.

James Potter was disappointed.

When Remus saw Professor Dumbledore sitting in his living room, he was confused. When he saw his mother's tear-streaked face he thought he understood. When he saw the radiant smile on her face he realized he didn't. And when they told him – he was still confused. Wasn't he a monster? Why would anyone want to help him? Especially someone as important and powerful as Dumbledore…? Point remained, that Dumbledore had helped him. And that's when it got through to him – he would be going to Hogwarts. He, Remus John Lupin, would be attending Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, coming semester. It was right there – black on white – in the letter Dumbledore handed him.

Remus Lupin was jubilant.

Peter's hand were shaking as he opened to letter carefully, not in the least because they still hurt from the ferocious beating he'd been forced to endure the week before. He read the letter and felt something weird in his stomach. But before it could be questioned his mom had hugged him and his dad was telling him how proud he was – and his heart jumped. Because never before had his dad been proud of him. That is why it took him some time to remember the feeling in the pit of his stomach, and realize what it was.

Peter Pettigrew was scared.


	2. The First Day

The First Day

**So, if everyone ****hates the first day of school… why don't they start the second day?**

"Remember to write every week, okay darling?" Lily nodded, smiling at her parents before glancing around the platform nervously. She didn't recognize any of the people surrounding her, except for Severus, who stood a few feet away from them. She shot him a quick grin before looking back at her parents.

"I'm going to miss you." Her mom hugged her and her dad patted her on the head. "You too, Tuney." Lily turned to Petunia, but her sister was avoiding her eyes. "Tuney-"

"I don't care." Lily looked slightly hurt but pressed on nonetheless.

"But surely you will miss me a _little_?" She tried to catch her sisters' eyes, but Petunia seemed to be avoiding her gaze. "Tuney?"

"No, I won't!" Petunia lifted her gaze and looked at her angrily. "You just go on off, and- And just leave me her on my own… I'll be fine."

"Tuney! You know I don't wanna leave you!"

"But you're going to anyway! And they won't have me…"

"I'm sorry, Tuney, I'm sorry! Listen-" Lily grasped Petunia's hand, and held on tightly as her sister tried to pull it away. "Maybe once I'm there – no listen, Tuney! Maybe once I'm there, I'll be able to go to Professor Dumbledore and persuade him to change his mind!"

"As if!" Sirius rolled his eyes and walked even faster towards the train, ignoring both his mother's remark and Kreacher, who was hobbling behind them with his trunk. "I can't believe they allow dirt like that to study besides someone like you!" Sirius bit back a snappy retort and hid his frustration, as he turned around at the door the last compartment.

"I'm pretty sure this one's still empty, mother…" His mother nodded shortly, and gestured towards Kreacher, who then hurriedly started lifting the trunk into the compartment. Immediately a thick silence formed between mother and son, as around them families hugged and said tearful goodbyes. Both of them knew it wouldn't be like that for them.

"I expect you behave, Sirius." His mother looked down at him sternly. "And I expect you will be on top of all of your classes… understood?" He didn't lift his eyes to meet hers, and simply stared straight ahead, unseeingly.

"Yes mother." She frowned before leaning forwards and wrapping her arms around him. Immediately he froze… he didn't remember his mother ever hugging him. However, a second latter he heard a soft hiss next to his ear, and realized she simply didn't want to be overheard.

"In any case, I've got your cousin looking out for you, so the minute you start causing trouble, I _will_ know." Sirius scowled darkly at the thought of Narcissa, before pulling his face back into its bored mask as his mother pulled back abruptly.

"Goodbye, mother." Sirius turned on his heels without waiting for a response, and hurried into the compartment that – luckily – turned out to really be empty.

It was only a couple minutes latter – right after the warning bells had gone off – that someone entered his compartment. It was the red-headed girl his mother had scoffed at, and she was crying. She didn't appear to see him as she hurried to sit by the window, pressing her face to the glass and waving.

It was ten minutes latter that Sirius concluded that it was very awkward to sit in the same compartment as someone who wasn't aware you were there. The girl continued crying and looking out the window, as he gazed past her at the landscapes they passed. So, when the door burst open a mere fifteen minutes into the ride, Sirius was very relieved indeed. He looked at the messy-haired boy in surprise. The boy turned to Sirius with a serious expression on his face.

"I've been here to whole time, okay?" Sirius nodded mutely, and the boy plopped down on the bench across of him, straightening his crooked glasses. "I'm James Potter, by the way…" The boy shot him a quick grin, and Sirius grinned back at him.

"Sirius B-" But again the door burst open.

"James Matthew Potter!" Without even wincing, James turned to the third year in the doorway, innocent face at the ready.

"Hi Val. Something wrong?" Sirius eyes wandered over the girl's appearance, 'Val' was not yet in her Hogwarts' robes but was wearing a white dress, with a soft pink cardigan and soft pink peep-toe shoes.

"Something wrong? _Something wrong_?" Sirius raised one eyebrow, whilst James' expression didn't even falter under her angry glare. "My – hair – is – _blue_!" James gaze wandered to her hair and then back to her face, a stunned expression on his face as if he had only noticed it just now. Sirius assumed that wasn't true as the ice-blue stood out rather fiercely against her doll-like face and soft green/blue eyes.

"Now that you mention it… why on earth did you do that?" Weren't it for years of practice in controlling his emotions and facial expressions, Sirius would've laughed out loud at that. It seemed blatantly clear that James for a fact had changed the hair colour.

"I didn't! You did you arrogant little prat!" James face changed into one of indulgent shock and again Sirius had to fight to keep his face straight.

"What? Why on earth would I do something like that?" The girl looked about to interrupt him so he quickly added, "Besides, I was here the whole time… right, Sirius?" 'Val' turned to him, and suspiciously looked at the bored yet amused expression on his face.

"Was James here the whole time?" Behind her back he could see James nodding vigorously. A small smirk formed around his lips as he looked her in the eyes.

"Indeed he was… I understand your frustration however," A small smile came unto her face, and he felt the corners of his lips pull upwards. "blue is most definitely not your colour." Her mouth fell open, as James roared with laughter and he finally grinned fully. With a huff of indignation 'Val' walked out of the compartment, slamming the door behind her. Leaving James to laugh at her, and Sirius to grin contently at the other boy's amusement.

"Thanks, man. I owe you one." James grinned at him and he chuckled.

"Well, it was one hell of a prank… how'd you pull it off?" And as James went into a detailed description of how and why he had pranked Valerie – as her name turned out to be – Sirius found himself acting genuinely like himself for the first time in a long, long time.

"James!"

"You're insane!"

"Pranking Valerie?"

"Do you know the temper of that girl?" A group of boys stormed into their compartment another fifteen minutes after their confrontation with Valerie, interrupting their game of Exploding Snap. Sirius frowned slightly, putting his cards down but James leaned back in his seat leisurely, a smug grin on his face.

"I just thought the colour suited her personality." Sirius gave a loud bark of laughter and the other boys turned to him. "That's Sirius… He helped me get a clean exit." The boys grinned at him and some called their names but Sirius simply leaned back and shot them a quick grin.

"How'd you do it anyway? The prank?" James turned his head towards the boy – Sirius guessed it was a second-year – before glancing around the row of anxious faces… and shrugging casually.

"Just a bit of hair-dye really… no big deal." He glanced at Sirius, but neither one of their expressions gave away that the operation had in fact been far more complicated than he was letting on. Sirius wondered for a second why James had told_ him_ all the details, rather than these boys who he seemed to know already. Before he could voice this question whips of another conversation reached their ears.

"You'd better be in Slytherin." Immediately James' head whipped around, looking at the pair next to the window. The girl now had company of a greasy-haired boy none of the boys had noticed entering the compartment.

"Slytherin?" The disgust James laid in the word was not hard to detect and Sirius felt his blood freeze… and there went the first friend he'd ever made. "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" James turned to him, and for a second Sirius contemplated going along with it, but he knew that the second James heard his last name he would know anyway…

"My whole family have been in Slytherin." He saw the surprise in James' face.

"Blimey, and I thought you seemed all right!" _I thought you seemed all right_… Sirius grinned.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition." His mother would kill him, but it's not like the family liked him anyway. "Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?" Perhaps he could jinx the sorting hat to put him there.

"'_Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!_' Like my dad." The greasy-haired boy made a small, disparaging noise and immediately James turned to him again, and for the first time Sirius saw anger in the eyes behind the spectacles. "Got a problem with that?"

"No, if you'd rather be brawny than brainy-" James looked even more angry and before he knew it Sirius found himself interjecting the boy.

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" James roared with laughter, as did the other boys, and a smirk formed on Sirius' face. The girl sat up from her hunched position, her cheeks red.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment." She and the greasy-haired boy stood up and walked out.

"Oooooo…" The boys around them chorused.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment." Sirius and James echoed in a high voice, and James stuck his leg out.

"See ya, Snivellus!" The door slammed shut, and the boys continued laughing as the group dispersed over the seats. One of the boys wiped some tears from his eyes, when James suddenly sat up straight.

"What time is it?" The others shrugged, causing James to frown.

"Why do you need to know?" James ignored the boy and instead stood up from his seat, opening the compartment door and sticking his head out.

"What time is it?" Behind him Sirius chuckled. The compartment door next to them opened and out popped the head of a brown-haired boy, who appeared to be a first year as well. "Do you know what time it is?" The boy glanced at his watch.

"11.35" James grinned at him.

"Thanks." He was about to pull his head back in the compartment, when a sudden thought struck him. "With how many people are you in there?" The boy looked at him slightly surprised.

"I'm on my own, actually-"

"Why don't you come with us… I'm sure they won't mind." The boy's blue eyes widened considerable before he carefully nodded.

"Okay… if you're sure they won't mind." James gestured, and the boy followed him back in the compartment.

"Guys, this is-" He stopped short and looked at the boy. "What's your name?"

"Remus-" James went on without letting him finish and turned back to the others

"This is Remus. Remus this is Sirius," He gestured towards the black-haired boy who shot them a lazy grin and Sirius felt a small rush at being mentioned first. "he's the greatest fun- oh guys, you gotta hear what he told Val!"

"You still call her that?" A blonde boy sitting next to the window spoke up. "You know how much she hates that nickname…" James shrugged disinterestedly and plopped down on the bench.

"Yeah, well Valerie hates a lot of things, including yours truly, so it'd be far too exhausting trying to keep up with that. Anyways, as I was saying-" He noticed Remus still standing in the doorway awkwardly. "Oh, wait, Remus why don't you plop down next to Frank, Frank move over the boy needs to sit as well!" He gestured to another brown-haired boy Sirius guessed to be a third-year, and Remus sat down. "Well, Remus you're the only one who doesn't know this yet, but this morning I pranked Valerie – who's a third year Ravenclaw – and turned her hair blue." Remus' eyebrows shot up but James had already turned his head to the rest of the boys. "So, she came storming in here, screaming her head off and blaming me… of course I denied and told her I'd been here the whole time. Then she asked Sirius to verify my alibi, which he did and then he told her, and watch this: 'I understand your frustration, however, blue is most definitely not your colour.'" The boys roared with laughter, and Sirius grinned slyly as James started yelling to make himself heard over the noise. "You guys should've seen her face! I haven't seen her that pissed since last Halloween…" The laughing became even louder.

"Yeah, and it's not like you didn't try." Frank shot James a grin.

"Why do I get the impression pranking Valerie wasn't a one time thing?" Remus looked at James with one eyebrow raised.

"Because it isn't!" The blonde boy interjected before James could say anything.

"He pranks her all the time…" James shot an apologetic grin in Remus' direction.

"And not just her too,_ everyone_!" Then smirked at Sirius, who gave him a thumbs up and a wink, still leaning back leisurely in his seat.

"Remember that one time when he-"

It was almost an hour and a half latter when they were interrupted by a knock on the door, and all that time had been filled with pranks James had pulled on various people, including as it turned out on most of the others. The only ones who'd never been pranked by him were Sirius and Remus, and, well he didn't know them before today.

"You want something?" Immediately James jumped up.

"Finally! I've been waiting for this ever since we got on the train." He was rummaging through his trunk as Sirius pulled his moneybag out of his. Most guys were rummaging through their pockets trying to find some change.

"Let me guess, that's why you wanted to know the time?" Remus looked at his hunched back in amusement.

"Exactly!" Triumphantly James pulled out his money bag and with slight surprise Sirius noted it must be about the same size as his. "So, let me see…" The boys crowded around the doorway trying to peak at the cart. It was very obvious that they weren't the first to be served as there were several gaps between the stacks of chocolate frogs and every-flavour beans. "Are we the last compartment?" The woman nodded curtly, and James turned to look at the others. "Than, why don't we buy all that's left?"

"You got a clue how much that costs?" Sirius rolled his eyes, stepping in the aisle and holding his moneybag up.

"I think me and James got it." He grinned at James, and James grinned back at him stepping out of the compartment as well.

"Won't your parents mind if you spend it all at once?" Remus asked worriedly.

"It's not all." Sirius answered at the same time James said, "This is just what I got for not sneaking my broom in." They grinned at each other before handing the woman both of their bags.

"We'll take it all."

"I feel sick." One of the boys in the back of the small room complained.

"Well, maybe you should've followed my example and stopped at some point." Remus replied, chuckling slightly as he leaned against the wall.

"It's just not fair! James and Sirius ate half with just the two of them, and they're fine… in fact, they're_ still_ hungry!" Remus glanced at James and Sirius, who shot him identical grins. They had indeed been complaining about the long time between leaving the train and the start of the feast.

"Well, apparently James and Sirius have besides humongous amounts of money also humongous stomachs." He grinned back at them as they both laughed quietly.

"I'm so nervous. I don't know what I'm doing here…" On the other side of the room a red-headed girl was having a panic-attack, and because it was so quiet everyone could hear every word she said. "Of course I'm not a witch, what was I thinking? I should just go home and-"

"Face the wrath of Petunia and live a magic-free life?" The boy next to her interjected, Remus could hear James murmuring something and then Sirius let out a loud bark of laughter causing the boy to glare at them before turning back to the girl. "Face it Lils… you belong here." She offered him a small smile.

"Thanks, Sev. Sometimes I really don't know what I'd do without you…" Next to him James and Sirius pretended to throw up on the floor, and Remus couldn't help but snort, causing the boy to glare at _him_.

"We are ready for you. Please stand in line and follow me…" After a few seconds of bumping into each other there was a neat line standing in front of professor McGonagall and she went ahead of them. As the doors opened James glanced at Sirius, and noticed the stressed expression on his face.

"Hey… you nervous?" Sirius glanced at him, before scoffing.

"Of course not! All we have to do is put on a stupid hat…" James pulled up an eyebrow, and Sirius sighed. "Like I said, my whole family have been in Slytherin. I'm just scared I'm not as different as I thought I was." The doors to the Great Hall opened and a lot of the first years sighed in awe. The two of them didn't even glance however, and lagged behind a bit, seeing they were last in line anyways.

"I think you're different." Sirius didn't look comforted by any means, so James tried again. "And even if you're not… I'll still be your friend." Sirius looked at him in surprise.

"Really?" James nodded in confirmation. "I thought you hated Slytherin…"

"I do, but-" He ran a hand through his hair. "You're a cool guy, Sirius. I'm not gonna ignore you because of what a bloody hat thinks." Sirius chuckled.

"Could the two gentlemen in the back please join the other students?" They looked up in surprise, realizing that because of their slow pace, they were barely halfway, with the rest of the group already in front of the staff's table.

"Coming!" James shouted, whilst they continued walking towards the others at the same speed. Sirius shot a quick grin at some of the boys on the Ravenclaw table that had been in their compartment in the train, right as James found Frank and waved at him. They were almost level with the others, when the Sirius abruptly stopped, holding out his arm to stop James as well. James looked at him in surprise before following his disappointed gaze, only to find- Valerie. A perfectly normal, _blonde_-haired Valerie.

"Val?" James looked at her in undisguised disappointment, and Valerie looked back at him with a face that spelled both innocence and amusement.

"Yes, James?" James really looked thoroughly disappointed, and Sirius could understand why. The prank had costs him both a lot of time and effort, and Valerie had simply made it disappear within a few hours.

"What did you do to your hair?" James whined, softly pulling on a stubborn curl in the otherwise sleek hair.

"What? You thought I was gonna keep it blue? Of course not! _Especially since it was not my colour_." She glared at Sirius and he could hear some faint laughing. "All I had to do was a quick colour-changing spell." James was about to reply again, when a loud voice interrupted their conversation.

"Could you please join the other students?" They both glanced at professor McGonagall and – upon seeing her red face – unanimously decided that they better hurry and quickly joined the other first years. Someone of which looked at them in annoyance and others who looked at them with hidden admiration.

"Can't believe I forgot to make it permanent…" James murmured under his breath. Sirius glanced at the first student sitting on the stool, before murmuring back.

"'S okay, mate… next week we'll do it right." James glanced at him from the corner of his eyes, and he thoughtfully added, "Though, maybe do it in pink… Seems to be more her colour, right?" James snorted but luckily the sound was covered up by McGonagall calling the next name.

"Black, Sirius!" Sirius looked up and quickly made his way to the group. Not quickly enough though, because he had just time enough to see James freeze out of the corner of his eyes. James was indeed quite shocked. Sirius had said that his whole family have been in Slytherin, but James hadn't expected his family to be quite that notoriously dark. The Black's were probably the most infamous pureblood family in the whole wizard community of Great Britain. And with the Malfoy's around that was saying _a lot_. Still, he liked Sirius. He was a cool guy. So when Sirius sat down on the stool, and their eyes locked James grinned at him and gave him a quick thumbs up and Sirius' grin seemed slightly relieved and James could just see him mouth 'here's to breaking traditions' before the rim of the hat slipped over his eyes.

"Gryffindor!" James' eyes widened in shock as the hat did not only place the first Black _ever_, in a different house, but did so the moment the hat touched Sirius' head. It didn't take long for him to come to his senses and he started cheering loudly as Sirius pulled the hat off, the biggest grin on his face. He proudly walked to the Gryffindor table, and as he sat down he searched for James. The second he saw him cheering Sirius could feel a warm feeling spread through his chest. Maybe he and James would really be friends. _Friends_. He'd never had a friend before…

"Gryffindor!" Sirius looked up to see the red-haired girl from their compartment hurriedly put the hat back on the stool, before making her way to the table and sitting down next to him. Immediately he moved up the bench to make room for her, she looked at him with a smile, before recognition washed over her face and she abruptly turned her back to him.

"Lupin, Remus!" As Sirius turned to look again, Remus made his way to the stool, knees wobbling and palms sweaty. Any minute now he expected Dumbledore to stop him, tell him Hogwarts was no place for monsters… But when Remus looked up at the Headmaster, he simply smiled and nodded encouragingly. Shaking, Remus sat down and put the hat on, almost jumping when he heard a soft voice.

"Well, what have we got here?" It took him a few seconds and unsuspicious glancing around before Remus realized it was the hat whispering in his ear. "Smart. Very smart, indeed. Kind, helping... Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff? Or perhaps… Yes, that will do- Gryffindor!" The word echoed through the hall and Remus hurriedly got up, walking to the table and plopping down next to Sirius, who was grinning at him.

"Congratulations on making it to the best House of Hogwarts!" Remus raised an eyebrow at him.

"The best House? Since when is Gryffindor the best House?" Sirius' grin widened.

"Since _I_'m in it… and James, in a bit." Remus chuckled, grinning back at Sirius.

"How long have you and James known each other for?" Sirius pulled a thinking-face, with his eyebrows frowned and tongue between his teeth, causing Remus to laugh again. The girl next to him looked at him in annoyance.

"Ehm, about…" He glanced at Remus' watch. "Six and a half hours." Remus looked at him in surprise.

"Really? It seemed like you'd been friends for ages!" Sirius opened his mouth to reply, as a small boy sat down a few seats further at the same time as McGonagall called the next person.

"Potter, James!" Sirius and James wheeled around to see James calmly walking up to the stool, grinning into the Hall before plopping down and allowing the hat to fall over his eyes. It took just one excruciating minute, in which the only sound heard was James chuckling… the hat seemed to be rather amusing.

"Gryffindor!" James took off the hat to bow gracefully as the students dutifully applauded, before leisurely making his way to the table, grinning. Sirius and Remus grinned at him as James plopped down opposite of them.

"So, m'boys… how's life as a Gryffindor bestowing you?" Remus snorted as did several others, but Sirius kept his face perfectly straight.

"Rather, excellent, I'd have to say. How's it been on you, my dear friend?" James smirked at him, as the laughter around them became louder.

"Bloody brilliant!" Sirius chuckled. "I'm happy you got here too, by the way… you too, Remus." Remus grinned, whilst Sirius grimaced.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if I get a howler within the next two days… but I was sorta expecting that anyway. Mother dearest is not too fond of me." The grimace changed into a smirk and he shrugged disinterestedly, but he couldn't help himself anyway, and past James' head he glanced at the Slytherin table, immediately meeting the eye of Narcissa. She looked away barely a second latter, but Sirius knew enough… he was in trouble.

"Sirius, you still awake?" Sirius sat up slightly, looking at the bed opposite of him, where James was looking back at him. Remus and the other Gryffindor boy – Peter – were already vast asleep, if you could count for Remus' slow breaths and Peter's loud snoring. "I just wanted to say that I really am happy you made it into Gryffindor…" Sirius smiled.

"So am I… even with tomorrow's howler." He chuckled softly, but James looked serious.

"Will your parents really send you a howler for not making it into Slytherin?" James lay back down, and Sirius followed his example, looking at the canopy over his bed, a different colour as he had anticipated.

"Definitely… Especially since my mother has a little spy in my dearest cousin." James made a sound of disgust, and after that there was a moment of silence. "How'd you know all those guys on the train?"

"Grew up with them… My parents do a lot of socializing, and usually I'm forced to tag along. It's kind of awful, really, but at least I got to meet some people before Hogwarts… It must be awful coming here and not knowing anyone." Sirius snorted.

"Imagine coming here and only knowing people you _hate_..." James frowned at the canopy… but he couldn't see it. Because in general he didn't hate people. There were people he liked, people he preferred and then the odd ones he'd rather avoid… yet none he actually_ hated_.

"Good thing I ran into you, than." The last word was almost unrecognizable because of a yawn, and James found himself drifting off to sleep.

"Sure is." Sirius turned on his side, imagining himself several floors lower, lying under a different colour canopy, with different black-haired boy in the bed opposite of his. "Sure is."


	3. Introducing: Pranks

Introducing: Pranks

**If you tell a joke that isn't funny, is it still a joke?**

"I can't believe you got it after only four tries! I only barely managed to do it before the end of class…" Lily smiled softly, glancing at the blonde girl walking next to her.

"It's not that impressive Anne… After all, Potter and Black both got it in one go." Anne giggled slightly at the mention of the two dark-haired boys, and Lily rolled her eyes. They'd barely spend a week at Hogwarts and already they seemed to be royalty. Lily had caught them in the courtyard after class on Wednesday, sitting among a group of friends and an even larger group of fervent admirers. The howler Sirius had received on Monday did nothing to make them less known either; it rather seemed to add to their fan base.

"I don't get why you don't like them, Lils. They're nice to almost everyone, even you! Whilst you haven't been that nice to them at all…" Lily set her jaw, her eyebrows frowning over her stunning eyes.

"They're not nice to Sev." Anne made an annoyed noise, so quietly that Lily almost missed it.

"Oh, right. Your 'best friend'." Lily looked at her new friend angrily.

"Anne!"

"I'm sorry." Lily frowned slightly. For some making an apology Anne looked just a little too not sorry and a little too much annoyed. "I just don't get why you like him so much. He seems like a total creep to me, besides he's in _Slytherin_! The whole lot of them are on You-Know-Who's side." Lily rolled her eyes, her voice become icy as she replied.

"Actually, I don't know who…" Anne's eyes widened as she stopped in the middle of the hallway, causing the two girls behind them to almost bump into them.

"What? Don't tell me you've never heard-" But Lily never got to hear what she'd never heard of as a high pitched scream cut across Anne.

"JAMES MATTHEW POTTER!" Valerie stormed around the corner, eyes blazing. She searched the corridor for a few seconds, before finding three boys leaning against a pillar. "JAMES MATTHEW POTTER AND SIRIUS-" She faltered slightly.

"Orion." James filled in for her.

"SIRIUS ORION BLACK!" Sirius and James grinned at her, as she halted in front of them, putting her arms in her side.

"Yeah, what's up Val?"

"My hair! Again!" Lazily two pairs of eyes travelled over the bright pink locks, tucked back in a sleek ponytail.

"Yes…?" James raised his eyebrows.

"We thought this was more of your colour… do you disagree?" Sirius looked at her innocently, and the corner of James' mouth twitched. Valerie let out a frustrated sigh.

"You two are the most insufferable little prats I-"

"I'm feeling terribly left out." Remus chimed in dryly.

"Yes, it's not very nice to ignore Remus like that, Val."

"You didn't even greet him. Which is rather hurtful when-"

"-you greeted us this enthusiastically!"

"We understand that dear Remy is not quite as handsome as the two of us, specifically me, but is greeting really too much to ask…?"

"Shut up!" Valerie took a couple of deep breaths, before looking back at them with a small smile. They were still grinning at here. "Ok, I'm not going along with your childish little games. I'm above that." She took a mirror out of her bag, along with her wand, and murmured a spell. She frowned slightly as her hair didn't change, and tried again. "Why won't it change?" James chuckled softly.

"You didn't really think I'd make the same mistake twice, did you?" James softly put a loose strand behind her ear as Sirius smirked.

"It's permanent." Valerie's mouth dropped open in horror. "Not _that _permanent!" She breathed in relieved. "It'll fade after one to two weeks…" She nodded slightly, and James finally stepped away from the pillar, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, do you think you'll survive?" Immediately Valerie pulled a sad face and looked at him with big eyes, shaking her head. "I personally think it looks quite good on you, actually." Valerie blushed slightly as she bit on her lip.

"Than again, what doesn't?" Sirius agreed, slipping an arm around her waist. She blushed even harder, looking from Sirius to James, not sure whether they were pulling her leg or not.

"The two of you?" Remus looked at them intertwined like that with one raised eyebrow, the only one left to lean against the pillar. James and Sirius chuckled, both letting go off Valerie, who murmured a quick goodbye and hurried off. "So what was that for?"

"The best way to make a girl forgive you," Sirius went on.

"Distract them with compliments…" James and he grinned at each other, and Remus chuckled. "Besides, James wouldn't want his little girlfriend to be upset now would, he?"

"I've told you, she's not my girlfriend!" Lily looked away annoyed.

"Still think they're so great?" She looked beside her, only to find the spot it empty. She frowned slightly and looked back at James and Sirius, where she quickly found Anne among a throng of girls looking at the boys in awe. Lily sighed in annoyance. Behind her someone laughed.

"C'mon you can't blame her, really… everyone loves them." Lily turned around to find Mary, another Gryffindor girl.

"Everyone but me." Mary chuckled again.

"I know. _Everyone _knows." Lily turned slightly red and Mary smiled at her. "You don't really make a big secret out of it." Lily shrugged slightly, smiling back.

"I guess not." They started walking again, moving past the group of people still surrounding Sirius, James and Remus, and she frowned slightly. "I just don't get why people like them so much. I mean, even this Valerie-girl! They just _pranked_ her, and she's already right back to swooning all over them…" Lily glanced at Mary, who simply shrugged.

"Well, Valerie has a soft spot for James. They've been like this for most of the summer." All of this was said on a rather matter-of-fact tone, and Lily looked at her slightly surprised.

"You already knew them before Hogwarts?" Mary grimaced slightly.

"Not well. I've only seen them once or twice this summer, but Robin lives down the road from me and he spent a lot of them with them… James is pretty much his hero." Lily snorted. "Now Sirius as well, undoubtedly."

"Why not Sirius before?" Mary looked at her in surprise.

"Because we didn't know him. None of us. Not even James." Lily's eyes widened.

"They met at Hogwarts? Wow. I thought they'd been friends forever, like me and Sev…" Mary smiled slightly

"They seem like that, don't they? But no, they met on the train…" Lily frowned slightly, thinking back to that moment when James had run into the compartment. She hadn't paid any attention to him, just like he hadn't seen her, but had that really been the first time the two boys had ever seen each other? It seemed so unlikely. She sighed softly, before looking at Mary, as they both said down in the common room.

"How do you know all these things?" Mary looked at her with raised eyebrows, before chuckling.

"_Everyone_ does."

MM_MM_MM

"So… how amazing do people think we are? On a scale from one to ten." Remus looked up from his book. Opposite of his chair Sirius and James sat on a sofa… or hung, rather, considering their heads almost touched the floor and their feet stuck out over the back.

"A ten, definitely." James answered confidently. Remus snorted before getting back to his book. "You disagree, Rems?" Quickly he looked up, to find Sirius and James looked at him with the same insulted expression.

"No, I agree… most people would rate you guys a ten." He went back to his book, but before he managed to read a letter, Sirius interrupted him again.

"How do you mean _most _people?" With a sigh Remus looked up again.

"Doesn't everyone love us?" James wore an expression of honest bemusement, and Remus put his book away, resigning to the fact they wouldn't allow him to read that evening. Much like they hadn't allowed him to do so every evening for the past week or so.

"No, as shocking as it may be to you, not everyone loves you." Sirius looked only mildly interested, he was quite used to being disliked, and really, the popularity was sorta unsettling. James however, looked absolutely horrified. In his mind, everyone had always loved him and he didn't see why this had or should change…

"Everyone does." Remus rolled his eyes.

"No, not everyone does, James." James finally turned to sit normally and with his head red from hanging upside down for so long, he looked dangerously mad.

"Name one example!" Remus pulled up one eyebrow.

"McGonagall." Sirius snorted and even James smiled a bit, what, with the colour slowly disappearing from his face, made him look a lot less angry.

"Teachers don't count." Remus smiled softly.

"The whole Slytherin House." Sirius snorted again, and James fully smiled.

"Slytherins aren't people… they're cockroaches." Remus laughed softly, and his hand edged back to his back, but James wasn't done yet. He was very determined to find out who, exactly, didn't like him. And then he'd just go and change their mind.

"Name one example from our own House!" Remus sighed once more, and looked James in the eye. From his point of view, James was getting entirely too worked up over something as silly as not _everyone_ liking you. It would be different if no one liked them… it was normal to get worked up over that. But getting this upset because one in a million people seriously dislike you… that was not normal. Than again, James had never really fitted in that category, that had become clear to him almost instantly.

"Lily Evans." James looked at him blankly for a few seconds.

"…who?" Remus rolled his eyes and opened his mouth when Sirius piped up again.

"The redhead?" Apparently the discussion was finally interesting enough for him to properly join in now that names had been said, as he got out of his upside down position and instead leaned back in the cushions.

"Oh, I know who she is!" James sat up straighter and started searching the common room.

"Wait, how do you mean she doesn't like us?" Sirius looked at Remus with a small frown on his face and James' head snapped around again, just when he thought he'd seen a flash of red a few meter further.

"Well, like that… Lily Evans doesn't like you guys." Remus looked away uncomfortably. Something was telling him to shush up if he didn't want a guilty conscience, but it was too late, now… both Sirius and James were looking at him in anticipation. Sirius with full attention for the first time since the confrontation with Valerie several hours earlier, and James with an expression of honest bemusement on his face Remus thought he heard a second-year a couple seats further call 'adorable'.

"Why not?" Remus sighed, and was happy when Sirius answered for him.

"Eh, James… remember on the train...?" A small frown came on his face. On the train? He didn't remember seeing Lily on the train. But if they pissed her off on the train it would explain why she'd been so cold to them at the feast already…

"Well, she can't still be mad about that!" James looked at Sirius in surprise. He himself had almost forgotten that she had been there as well, just like he almost hadn't remembered who she was. The only reason he'd been able to recall her, was that Sirius said 'redhead', and that brought back the memory of potions, where he sat behind her and contemplated whether or not they should make Valerie's hair that colour rather than pink.

"It's not like we've stopped." Sirius offered with a small grin, and James laughed, attracting the attention of a small cluster of girls.

"Why would we? It's too much fun!" Sirius' grin widened, and even Remus couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"Exactly. What does it matter that one person in the whole freaking school doesn't like us?" Remus laughed softly and rolled his eyes.

"It's not just-"

"Teacher's don't count Remus!" Sirius waved him away.

"And neither do Slytherin's!"

"Like I said, Slytherins aren't people, they're cockroaches." James laughed again but a cold voice quickly cut him off.

"Excuse me?" Really, they were just unlucky. It so happened that among the group of girls that had looked over when James had laughed before sat Lily, and as they continued talking their voices went up just enough for her to hear what they were saying.

"Evans! We were just talking about you…" James looked at her with a wide smile, unaware of the daggers she was shooting at him. Sirius grinned, leaning back leisurely again. He seemed to be aware of the mood Lily was in, but didn't care to warn James.

"And about your good ol' pal, Snivellus." Remus nearly groaned out loud, glaring at Sirius. He'd been expecting something like this to happen sooner or latter. After all, Lily and Snape were best friends, and Sirius and James absolutely couldn't stand him. And really, you couldn't blame them. But even if Remus thoroughly disliked Snape and was on his way of becoming friends with Sirius and James, he couldn't help feeling the slightest bit of pity for him as they taunted him and called him names. Teased and provoked. Insulted and annoyed.

"Stop calling him that." Lily stood up and walked up to them, eyes blazing dangerously.

"Why would we?" James pulled up one eyebrow, provoking her.

"Because it isn't nice!" She stopped in front of them, looking down on their slouched forms with her arms crossed.

"Well, maybe we aren't nice." Obviously Sirius was not intimidated by people towering over him, and judging from the stories he'd told them, he must've seen far scarier glares.

"Or in the very least, not to cockroaches…" James smirked at her and for the first time his face was really arrogant, Lily narrowed her eyes.

"Well, maybe you should start being nice to cockroaches… they're far more likeable than the two of you." And with that she turned around and stomped off. James turned to Sirius, to see his own facial expression mirrored on his friend's face.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Sirius grinned.

"I'm definitely thinking what you're thinking." Remus looked back and forth between the two boys, before groaning loudly.

"I sure I hope to God you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking." Two identical grins and two pairs of sparkling eyes were turned to him, and he gulped.

"But we are, Remy, we are."

MM_MM_MM

"I WILL _KILL _HIM!" Lily stormed down the stairs, entering the common room, where every face seemed to be turned in her direction in alarm. None of the faces were the one she was looking for, and she briskly walked towards the portrait hole.

"C'mon Lily... It's not that bad." Anne was panting slightly, trying to keep up. Lily shot her a cold glare.

"Do you want cockroaches in your bed, Anne?" Anne winced, and Lily started walking even faster. Her blood was boiling. She could not believe that they would actually- scratch that. She could absolutely believe they'd do something like this. She just hadn't expected them to do it to her… but they had, and they'd have to face the consequences. After all, people called her a redhead for more reasons as her hair colour.

"They just took what you said a little too literally." She looked at Mary in disbelief, and Mary sighed. "Really, you should've known better than provoking them…" Lily huffed.

"I will not sit around and listen whilst they insult my best friend!" Sev was important to her. Hurting him equalled hurting her. And the other way around of course.

"Well, unless you want to continue waking up amidst cockroaches for the rest of the year, I suggest you start doing so." Lily shivered at the idea of the tiny animals that had been scurrying all over her this morning. She most definitely did not want that. But she wouldn't stand aside and let them bully her around. Or Sev. Especially not Sev.

"James is brilliant at holding grudges." Jessica warned her. Overall she was an alright girl, but right now Lily thought she was just all little too calm under it all. A little too disinterested. A little too_ bored_.

"And Sirius doesn't seem like the type to stop him if he's out for revenge…" Lily rolled her eyes. Mary and Jessica meant well, she was sure, but she thought they were exaggerating just a little bit.

"He's an eleven year old unqualified kid… what's the worst he can do?" She thought Jessica and Mary exchanged a look, but they had just reached the Great Hall, and she abruptly halted, searching the benches. He could be anywhere. Gryffindor table. Ravenclaw table. Hufflepuff table.

"Well, he's-" But Lily had caught sight of James sitting halfway the Gryffindor table, shoving eggs in his mouth and laughing.

"JAMES POTTER!" James looked up surprised to find the angry redhead storming at him. To be honest, he'd been expecting a little less anger and a little more crying and staying out of his way. Also, he hadn't expected her to realize he'd done it quite this soon. Definitely not earlier as Monday. But there was always a back-up plan.

"Yes, my lovely Lilykins?" He looked at her innocently, as she stopped next to him, glaring down at him just like she'd done the night before.

"WHY DID YOU- Wait, what?" James almost smirked as he watched confusion take over her face. Distraction. Always worked. "Lilykins?" He feigned surprise.

"Don't you like it?" Sirius shoved the last of his toast in his mouth and turned around to join the conversation. He was wondering why exactly he hadn't been called out to yet. After all, she disliked him just as much and they did the prank together.

"I think it has a rather nice ring to it… Don't agree, Remy?" Remus glanced up from his cereal.

"I'm staying out of this." Lily cut across them, as the other girls finally caught up.

"It's completely irrelevant!" James looked at her in surprise again, and this time it was real. They conversation should've been sufficiently off track for her to forget what had initiated it. "The point is that you put cockroaches in my bed!" Lily folded her arms over her chest and glared at them.

"There were cockroaches in your bed?" James called out surprised at the same time Sirius cockily replied, "What makes you think we did it?" Lily rolled her eyes.

"The note." James looked back at her calmly, eyes wide.

"What note?" Lily sighed. She'd thought they would confess as soon as she came storming in, and apologize… thus far, she had accomplished neither one.

"The note on my bedside table, in your handwriting…" James frowned slightly.

"The fact that you recognize my handwriting is a tiny bit disturbing. You know, since I've barely known you a week…" And he meant that. The only people who might recognize his handwriting were his parents, Val, perhaps some of the others they hung out with and in a few weeks probably Sirius and Remus, too.

"I didn't recognize it. Anne did." Over her shoulder Lily pointed at Anne, who turned bright red as all eyes turned to her. For a few seconds James' face stayed blank.

"Oh. Right." That was just freaky. He knew Anne fancied either Sirius or him, as she followed them around most of the day, ogling them, but that she recognized his handwriting was just- well, freaky.

"Well….?" Lily pulled up one eyebrow expectantly. James frowned, looking at Sirius, who shrugged, indicating he didn't know what she was going on about either.

"Well, what?" Lily heaved an aggravated sigh, looking at both of them with her eyes narrowed into slits.

"Aren't you gonna explain yourselves?" They shared another look, before shrugging.

"No." She looked at Sirius in disbelief as Anne giggled behind her.

"C'mon… we were just doing you a favour!" Her disbelieving gaze focused on James instead.

"You said yourself you liked cockroaches." Sirius offered. Speechless, Lily just shook her back and forth slowly.

"Yeah, didn't she Remus?" James turned to his friend, who promptly turned back to his cereal.

"Still staying out of it." Sirius grinned, looking at the girls behind Lily.

"She did." Lily made an annoyed sound, successfully breaking her muteness.

"Still not the point!" James and Sirius looked at her confusion, real one this time.

"Then I don't get what the point is supposed to be…" James carefully glanced at Sirius, who looked just as oblivious as he felt.

"I thought it was about the cockroaches?" Sirius shrugged back at James. Lily groaned, and as they turned back to her, James finally noticed one of the girls' standing behind her.

"Jess!" Jessica smiled coldly at him, the ends of her full lips barely going up and arching one slender eyebrow above an ice blue eye.

"James." James seemed unfazed by this less then warm greeting and smiled widely, as the rest watch the interaction curiously

"I have barely seen you… how are you?" Jessica rolled her eyes, and shook the long black hair out of her face that wore a sarcastic smile.

"Wonderful. I really enjoy cockroaches this close to my bed." At the jibe Sirius snort softly and her cold stare moved from James' face to his. Oops.

"They didn't cross over to yours, though did they?" James frowned slightly, as did Sirius.

"We tried to make sure they didn't." Jessica raised one mocking eyebrow.

"Or Remus did, really." James admitted, earning some small snorts from the girls.

"He figured, since there was no way stopping us-" James interjected Sirius cheerfully, throwing the girls' a wide smile that showed no ounce of apology.

"-he might as well make sure no one but the target had to suffer!" Remus sighed behind them, and Lily finally gave up and strutted away to sit further up the table with two of the girls, leaving only Jessica and Anne.

"Isn't he a wonderful boy?" Jessica rolled her eyes at Sirius' motherly tone.

"Definitely." The sarcasm was slightly ruined, when she shot James a half smile and shook her head in a sorta 'you're impossible' manner. "I'll see you around, Potter." James waved, as she and pulled Anne along to go sit with the others.

"Well, she seems to absolutely love you." Remus sarcastically said, looking at James with one eyebrow raised. James turned around and shrugged slightly.

"Oh, she likes me alright." He took a bite of his now-cold eggs, grimaced and grabbed new ones. Remus raised his other eyebrow at him, and even Sirius looked at him in disbelief. James looked up, and upon seeing their faces quickly explained, "She's just kind tired of seeing my face, and annoyed by the continuous pranking." From the still confused facial expressions of his friends he concluded they needed more explaining, so he added, "She's Valerie's little sister."

"She who's what?" Sirius looked at him with wide eyes, and Remus choked on his toast. James rolled his eyes and thumped Remus on the back, rolling his eyes at Sirius.

"I know they don't exactly look alike, right? But Jess is an animagus, and she tries to look as different from Val as she possibly can." Sirius raised his eyebrows, glancing at the blonde perfection that was Valerie, and James grinned at him. "They don't really get along."

"Which is why she's cold to you…?" Remus guessed idly, still not sure what to make from the situation. James shook his head, and swallowed the last off his eggs.

"Nah, usually she's a lot nicer. I think she's pissed because thanks to me she woke up a lot earlier than she'd anticipated…" He grabbed a piece of toast and took a bit out of it. He chewed it with a thoughtful expression on his face before adding, "She rather enjoys sleeping in."

"And you probably never allowed her to do so during the summer?" Sirius guessed, a small grin forming on his face as it started to dawn in him.

"I had no reason to! Val's an early riser, and I love Jess, but I came mainly to spend time with her and the guys." Sirius and Remus looked at each other. "No, not because I like Val, but because out of our group, I'm the only one Jess can somewhat stand, and it's kinda lonely to hang out with just one person." Sirius nodded in agreement as he thought of all the times he'd spend with just himself or only his younger brother for company.

"Kinda surprising that out of everyone she likes you though…" Remus said, looking at James in soft amusement. Sirius immediately caught on and nodded, as James looked at hem in surprise.

"Yeah, since you're such a prat and all." The surprised expression on James' face was replaced by an offended one, and both Sirius and Remus had to fight to contain their laugher.

"Am not! I'm a likeable person!" Remus shook his head and Sirius snorted.

"Just keep telling yourself that, Jamesie, just keep telling yourself."


End file.
